All Entertainment

‘Bat Out of Hell the Musical’ Opens in England

The stage production based on the songs Jim Steinman wrote for Meat Loaf‘s breakthrough Bat Out of Hell

record has completed its opening night — and the earliest reviews suggest this is one rock musical worth seeing.

The Manchester Evening News was on hand to cover the debut performance of the show’s opening engagement at the Manchester Opera House in England, and offered the production a glowing four-star review that called it “a truly staggering piece of musical theater, which breaks new boundaries in its staging, choreography and concept on an epic scale” and found critic Dianne Bourne adding, “It is not hard to see why more than 25,000 people have already booked to see this extravaganza — and why I suspect many thousands more will come to this musical in the months and years to come.”

That acclaim follows the strong buzz that surrounded preview performances of the show, including one at the London Coliseum that, according to the Daily Express, left Meat Loaf in tears. “It’s been Jimmy’s dream for nearly 50 years, and for his dream to finally come true … there are no words to describe it,” he told the paper. “All I can do is cry, and that’s what happens. This human being has had a dream and I am here and alive to see it.”

As previously reported, Bat Out of Hell — The Musical uses songs from the original album as well as its 1993 sequel to take audiences on “a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland.” It’s scheduled to run at the Manchester Opera House until April 8, then move to London; for more information or to purchase tickets, visit the musical’s official site.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic diplomatic turn, President Donald Trump canceled next month's summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un Thursday, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement by the North.